


2:17

by littlelino (taeyeongie)



Series: the boy with stars in his eyes [1]
Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: (oh my god they were roommates), Baby Boy Choi Beomgyu, Dancer Choi Yeonjun, Deaf Character, FYI, Fluff, Gen, Hope you like it!, Late Night Conversations, Soft Choi Yeonjun, Sweetheart Choi Yeonjun, and they were roommates!, in case that bothers you i guess, it's just in italics bc i wanted to try a new writing style, lapslock, there are also no quotation marks during dialogue, this needs to be a tag cmon, yeonbin besties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:28:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25243168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taeyeongie/pseuds/littlelino
Summary: yeonjun meets a mysterious boy on his way home from the studio
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu & Choi Yeonjun, Choi Soobin & Choi Yeonjun, Purely Platonic - Relationship, but with potential for more!
Series: the boy with stars in his eyes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828729
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	2:17

yeonjun sighs as he takes a few gulps of his water. he’s been practising nonstop for his upcoming evaluation; it has to be _perfect_

he glances at the clock. holy crap, when did it get to be 2 am? he shrugs, throwing his water bottle into his bag and throwing it over his shoulder. he should head home; he could definitely use a hot shower and a solid thirteen hours of sleep right about now. between school and dance, yeonjun often finds that there isn’t a single moment where he can truly relax. 

yeonjun exits his studio, swiping his keycard at the stairwell door. he tends to not trust the elevator anymore after it broke down while he was inside and had to wait upwards of five hours for someone to come get him. not to mention, the entire time he’s on the phone with a panicking soobin. 

he takes the stairs two at a time as fast as his legs can carry him. he just wants to get _home_. 

he puts his earphones in as he walks, pushing open the exit with his shoulder without looking up as he scrolls through his music library. yeonjun can honestly walk the route from the studio to his house with his eyes closed, he’s done it so many times. he knows every turn and every pothole in the road. 

yeonjun tugs his coat tighter around his body as he watches his breath fog in front of him. god, it’s freezing. 

the light melody of the track yeonjun will be dancing to for his evaluation filters through his headphones, and he hums along, running through the dance moves in his mind. 

yeonjun turns the last corner before his street and stops dead in his tracks. 

sitting on the sidewalk is a boy around yeonjun’s age, probably a little younger, with his eyes closed and his knees tucked against his chest. he has dark hair, brown or maybe black, it’s hard to tell under the dim streetlights, and he’s wearing nothing but a thin t-shirt and some track pants, a pair of tattered black converse left unlaced on his feet. he’s visibly shivering, but his breath doesn’t cloud like yeonjun’s. 

as if he can sense yeonjun’s presence, the boy opens his eyes, zeroing in on yeonjun’s own red converse. then the boy looks up, his expression more curious than frightened as he meets yeonjun’s gaze, and yeonjun finds himself a bit taken aback at how striking the boy’s features are. his eyes shine even in the dark. 

_oh, hi,_ the boy says. there’s something a little off with how he speaks, but yeonjun can’t put his finger on it. _sorry, am i in your way?_

yeonjun doesn’t quite know what to say, and he very rarely finds himself speechless. _ah, no, you aren’t._ he notices the way the boy’s eyes drop to his lips when he speaks. _sorry, i just… what are you doing out here? it’s…_ he pauses to check the time on his phone, _it’s 2:17 in the morning, and you’re sitting out here on the street without a coat in the middle of winter._

the other boy just smiles. _i know. it’s weird, but i just find it peaceful. i like coming out here and looking up at the stars. this spot is perfect for it._

 _can you not see them from your house?_ yeonjun can’t help but wonder. the boy’s smile tightens. 

_no._

_oh._

yeonjun shivers as a particularly cold breeze blows through, but the strange boy doesn’t even bat an eye. his hair is ruffled from the wind, and he must be freezing, he’s been sitting outside on the sidewalk, for god’s sake. 

_do you mind if i sit with you?_ yeonjun finds himself asking. the boy blinks. 

_huh? you… you wanna sit with me?_

_yeah._ yeonjun shrugs. _why not?_

_don’t you… you said it was 2 am, shouldn’t you be heading home?_

_my roommate is used to me coming home late, he won’t be waiting for me. so can i?_

_sure! i’ve never had anyone to sit with me before._

yeonjun smiles at the other boy’s beaming expression as he lowers himself to the ground. _my name is yeonjun._

 _beomgyu!_ the boy introduces himself brightly, turning to face yeonjun properly. _i’m 17!_

 _well, i’m 19, so that makes me your hyung,_ yeonjun replies with a smirk. beomgyu just laughs, and yeonjun decides that it’s probably the cutest laugh he’s ever heard. beomgyu is probably the cutest person he’s ever met (besides maybe his roommate soobin, but soobin always complains when yeonjun calls him cute, so he loses a few points). 

_do you mind me asking what you’re doing out here in the middle of night?_ yeonjun asks after a moment. beomgyu hesitates before speaking for the first time. 

_i don’t… i don’t really wanna talk about it._

_that’s okay,_ yeonjun assures him. he turns away for a moment to take his bag off his shoulder as he continues, _we hardly know each other after all. but you seemed lonely, and i don’t want you to be._

when yeonjun looks back at beomgyu, the younger looks terribly confused. 

_i’m… i’m so sorry, but what did you just say?_

it’s then that it clicks in yeonjun’s mind. the way beomgyu speaks seems off because he’s trying to form sounds he can’t _hear._

_are you deaf?_ yeonjun guesses. beomgyu’s eyes go wide, and he shrinks away from yeonjun. 

_what? what are you talking about?_

_hey, it’s okay, it's okay!_ yeonjun rushes to amend. _i don’t care, i promise. i was just… you couldn’t understand what i said because i turned away. you’ve been reading my lips._

beomgyu looks down at his lap. he makes a little noise, halfway between a squeak and a sigh, and yeonjun’s heart clenches. _i… yeah, i’m deaf._

yeonjun taps the boy’s shoulder gently, and beomgyu looks back up, eyes falling to yeonjun’s mouth once again. 

_you don’t have to be ashamed of it. it’s really cool that you can read lips and speak so well, i can’t imagine how hard it must have been to learn. do you know sign language too?_

beomgyu smiles slightly, and yeonjun feels relieved. _thank you. that… means a lot to me, h… hyung. did i say it right? i’ve never said it before._

yeonjun grins. _yeah, you did._

beomgyu grins back. then it sort of fades into a sad smile. _and no, i don’t know sign language. never got the chance to learn it._

 _we could learn it together!_ yeonjun knows he’s jumping the gun a little, but this kid just looks so desperately in need of a _friend._ he tries to ignore how genuinely shocked beomgyu appears at the mere suggestion that yeonjun wants to spend more time with him. _i’ve actually always wanted to learn sign language, but it just didn’t seem that important since i didn’t know any deaf people and had school to focus on, you know? but now i know you!_

beomgyu blinks a few times. _you… are you saying you want… you want to be my friend?_

 _yeah, of course i do._ yeonjun smiles, nudging beomgyu’s knee with his own. _you seem cool_. 

that bright, beaming expression is back, and yeonjun has to stop himself from reaching out and pinching beomgyu’s cheek (he has dimples!). 

_really?! that’s so exciting! i’ve never had a friend before!_

yeonjun’s heart _aches_ for this boy. 

_well, then i’m honoured to be your first,_ he says. _do you wanna come stay the night at my place?_

 _oh, no, that’s okay, i wouldn’t wanna intrude,_ beomgyu replies, but yeonjun just rolls his eyes. 

_you wouldn’t be ‘intruding’, i invited you._

_are… are you sure, hyung?_

_definitely_. 

_your roommate won’t mind?_

yeonjun shakes his head. _he won’t._

beomgyu thinks for another moment. _okay. but i don’t have any other clothes._

 _you can borrow some of mine, it’s really no problem. hold on, here._ yeonjun shrugs off his coat. 

_what are you doing?_ beomgyu’s eyes go wide. yeonjun ignores him and instead drapes the coat over beomgyu’s shoulders. 

_it’s the middle of january. you’re going to freeze to death._

_what about hyung?_ beomgyu protests, trying to give the coat back to no avail. 

_i’m wearing a sweater, but you’ve got nothing but that t-shirt. come on, my house is just down the street._

yeonjun stands up and grabs his bag. beomgyu stands as well, holding yeonjun’s coat tightly around his body. 

_thank you,_ beomgyu mumbles. yeonjun almost misses it. 

_for what? the coat?_

_for being so nice,_ beomgyu says. yeonjun feels his heart shatter. what the hell has this poor kid been through? 

_of course,_ yeonjun tells him, throwing an arm across beomgyu’s shoulders, tugging him close as they walk. _my mom always taught me to be nice to everyone because you never know what they’re going through._

beomgyu takes a moment to digest yeonjun’s words before he nods. _i wish my mom taught me things like that._

he sounds so unbearably sad when he says this. yeonjun is starting to think maybe beomgyu doesn’t have a home to go back to. 

they arrive at yeonjun and soobin’s house (technically, it’s soobin’s _parents’_ house, and they let yeonjun and soobin live in it) quickly, and yeonjun unlocks the door and leads beomgyu to his bedroom. 

_the guest room isn’t exactly… guest-ready,_ he explains. _you go ahead and sleep here._

 _i can’t kick you out of your own bed, hyung,_ beomgyu protests, but yeonjun doesn’t care. 

_it’s fine, really, beomgyu. i’ll just go sleep in soobin’s room, it’s not big deal._

beomgyu still doesn’t look happy about it, but he concedes. yeonjun moves to dig around in his dresser for a couple pairs of pyjamas for himself and beomgyu. 

_here._ yeonjun tosses beomgyu a pair of old basketball shorts and one of soobin’s university sweatshirts that had managed to worm its way into yeonjun’s laundry instead of the younger’s. he then makes his way over to his closet and pulls out a few extra blankets, throwing them onto the bed. _go ahead and use those. you can just throw your clothes into the hamper; tomorrow’s laundry day, anyway._

beomgyu nods, holding the pyjamas close to his chest. _thank you._

yeonjun smiles. _it’s late — tomorrow is saturday, so thankfully we can sleep as much as we want._

beomgyu giggles. yeonjun ruffles his hair. _night, gyu._

_good night, hyung._


End file.
